James McBey - Francais Inconnus

Francais Inconnus

James McBey's original drypoint engraving, "Francais Inconnus" was created by the artist in 1917. It is printed on old Dutch hand-made, laid paper, signed in pen (as usual) by McBey and numbered XXII under the plate-mark. This etching depicts a scene from the battle of Francais Inconnus during the First World War. It is a haunting example of the famous, original art created by the British artist, James McBey.

Francais Inconnus

View other original works of art by James McBey.

James McBey (Aberdeen, 1883 - 1959)
#	Image	Title & Artist	Medium	Date	Notes	-
01-		Francais Inconnus by James McBey	Original Drypoint Engraving	1917	Signed in pen by James McBey and numbered XXII under the plate-mark. Hardie Catalogue #176, First and Only State, Limited edition of sixty impressions.	Sold
02.-		Greetings From Tangier by James McBey	Original Pen & Ink Drawing	1928	Titled and signed by James McBey along the lower margin and also signed by his wife. Dated '1928', on the verso.	Sold

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Artist:	McBey, James (Aberdeen, 1883 - 1959)
Date:	1917
Medium:	Original Drypoint Engraving
Note:	James McBey: One of the greatest masters of twentieth century British art, James McBey was entirely self-taught. Until the age of twenty-six McBey worked full-time in a Scottish bank. By 1909 he had created fifty-eight etchings depicting mostly Aberdeen and Edinburgh scenes, but even in these early works he exhibited the economy of line and dramatic use of space which would make his etchings and dry point engravings famous.
	During the next few years McBey visited Holland, Spain and Morocco, creating memorable etchings of these localities. International attention was directed towards the artist with his first London exhibition in 1911. Such influential scholars and critics as Malcolm Salaman and Martin Hardie hailed McBey at this time as the new master of British etching. His finest work, however, was yet to come.
	In 1916 James McBey was appointed an Official War Artist for Britain. He was first stationed in France at Boulogne and Rouen. In the Spring of 1917 McBey was at the Somme Front, a focal point for some of the most disastrous battles of the First World War. It was here that he created two of his masterpieces; Spring 1917 and Francais Inconnus. Concentrating not upon the actual conflicts but upon their devastating aftermaths, McBey delivered his poignant statement through the blasted landscape and the exhaustion of the surviving soldiers. The tragedy of Francais Inconnus is further conveyed by its title -- translated into English as, "The Unknown French". Rough wooden crosses behind barbed wire mark their graves.
	Later in the same year McBey was appointed to the Palestine Expeditionary Force in the Sinai Desert. The sand-filled horizons and landscapes engendered a different, more poetic art. After the war, McBey's etchings and dry points continued to receive critical acclaim. The greatest work of his post-war period is held to be his thirty-two Venice etchings (the first dating from 1924) which scholars now regard to be of equal standing to the Venice Set of Whistler.
	The original art of James Mcbey is housed in many public collections both in Britain and abroad. The larges collection will be found in his native Art Gallery of Aberdeen, as well as the British Museum, London. The prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum, London, counts four of his watercolors and several of his drawings among its possessions.
Raisonne:	Malcolm Hardie, James McBey Catalogue Raisonne, 1902 - 1924, London, 1925.
	Hardie Catalogue #176, First and Only State as published in a limited, signed edition of Sixty Impressions.
Size:	5 7/8 X 9 7/8 (Sizes in inches are approximate, height preceding width of plate-mark or image.)
	Framed and Matted with 100% Archival Materials
	View larger Framed Image

Condition:	Printed on old Dutch hand-made, laid paper and with margins at least one half inch from the plate-mark on all sides. Like Whistler, McBey had a keen eye for the soft and subtle tonal values of seventeenth century papers and would seek them out for select impressions. Signed in pen (as usual) by McBey and numbered XXII under the plate-mark. As described above by Hardie, Francais Inconnus was limited to a small edition of only sixty impressions. A faint mark, which is embedded in the old paper, exists in the upper right margin, else in very good condition throughout. Altogether, this is a fine impression with strong dry pointing. This masterpiece is a haunting example of the famous, original art of James McBey.
Price:	Sold - The price is no longer available.
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